Admittedly European aviation is perhaps a bit too regulated in certain ways, and sometimes you need some parties to push the boundaries in order to force change. However, I can’t help but think that Ryanair maybe crosses that line…
In this post:
Ryanair suggests seven-minute delay causes diversion
Ryanair has put out an angry press release, with the following title:
Ryanair Flight Diverted After 7-Minute Weather-Related Delay — LuBB Again Rejects Exemption From Night Flight Ban
Wait, a flight had a seven-minute delay due to weather, and that caused a diversion? I’m right there with Ryanair, we should be furious, this is unacceptable! How could regulators do that to these poor passengers? But let’s take a closer look.
The flight in question was on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Specifically, we’re talking about Ryanair flight FR1571, scheduled to operate from Vilnius (VNO) to Berlin (BER). The 510-mile flight was supposed to depart at 10:10PM and arrive at 10:50PM (with a one-hour time change, meaning the block time is 1hr40min).
Let me mention that Berlin has a night curfew from 11:30PM until 5:30AM. That curfew applies for scheduled arrivals, and then there’s a 30-minute grace period for delays, so that flights can land until 12AM.
On this night, the flight was running way behind schedule. The aircraft only took off from Vilnius at 11:52PM, over 1hr40min behind schedule.
11:52PM in Vilnius is 10:52PM in Berlin, meaning the plane would’ve had to land in Berlin within 1hr8min of takeoff in order to make it in time for 30-minute extension on the curfew. This flight ordinarily takes somewhere around 1hr20min, and the last time it was operated in a flight time of 1hr8min or less was on January 13, 2025. That’s right, for over four months, the flight hasn’t once operated in less time than what the airline was allowing here.
Ryanair’s press release makes no mention of the fact that the flight took off nearly two hours late, but instead, just focuses on a seven minute weather delay. But even that doesn’t make much sense, given that this flight takes longer than the airline allotted.
The plane ended up having to divert to Hanover (HAJ), where it touched down at 12:26AM, and then passengers had to be transported to Berlin by bus.
Ryanair is furious about diversion, demands change
Ryanair’s Head of Communications DACH, Marcel Pouchain Meyer, said the following in regards to this situation:
“It is completely unacceptable that passengers are being subjected to unnecessary disruption by the LuBB’s refusal to grant even minor exceptions to the night flight ban. It makes no sense that aircraft are repeatedly diverted from Berlin Airport just minutes after the night flight ban begins and forced to fly to Hanover, where passengers then have to endure a three-hour bus ride back to Berlin. It would be far more sensible and environmentally friendly to grant airlines appropriate flexibility to allow them to land in Berlin to a reasonable extent after the night flight ban begins.”
“We call on Carsten Diekmann to immediately work with the responsible authorities on a solution and to stop further damaging Berlin’s competitiveness.”
Look, I appreciate the extent to which Ryanair is an important competitor that keeps airfare low. But the airline is downright gaslighting regulators here. The company is blaming regulators for causing a diversion over a seven-minute delay, while conveniently not mentioning that the flight was running nearly two hours late.
When the plane took off from Vilnius, it was unrealistic to expect that it would land in time for the 30-minute extension on the curfew curfew, but the airline did that anyway. That’s an operational decision that Ryanair made, and suggesting that regulators are unreasonable is baseless. The 30-minute extension on the curfew exists for this very reason. But now Ryanair wants an extension on the extension.
Look, do I think curfews are kind of silly, and there should be more flexibility? Personally I think so, but I also don’t live near an airport with a curfew, and I also sleep with a really loud white noise machine. Regardless, the way that Ryanair is going about blaming regulators is just ridiculous, in my opinion.
Bottom line
Ryanair claims that one of its planes was prevented from landing in Berlin with a delay of just seven minutes, due to the nighttime curfew. The airline conveniently omits the fact that the plane departed from its origin nearly two hours behind schedule, and it was unrealistic for the plane to land in Berlin before the end of the 30-minute extension on the curfew.
Nonetheless, Ryanair is fully blaming regulators here and is demanding change, with more flexibility around curfews. While there are reasonable arguments to be made against curfews, the way Ryanair is going about it just isn’t right, in my opinion.
What do you make of this Ryanair curfew situation?
Kudos to you for flagging this!
Loud, angry statements either from MOL in person or on FR's social media accounts aren't rare. Is this a marketing tactic? Or does it work at discouraging passengers from seeking EC261/04 compensation?
IDK, but FR is 100% at fault here.
Ryanair constantly tried to cheat their customers, lie to regulators and engage in false advertising over and over again and then whines when they're held accountable for the consequences of their own actions.
Doesn't hurt that their d!ckhe@d CEO would monetize breathing on their planes if he could.
Airport curfews are dumb. I feel bad for the people who live near airports but the economic benefits of flying are large and distributed - they should not be reduced because of the concentrated harms near the airport.
Many airport curfews are essential. Sydney airport, for instance, is only a few miles outside the city centre and its approach is directly above some of the city’s densest and oldest suburbs. If you didn’t have a curfew, some 250k people wouldn’t sleep. As it was the 6am Emirates A380 for Dubai was may alarm clock.
Ben, fantastic headline. That is all.
We all know that the German's are sticklers, for their rules and regulations (Regelbewusst). But delayed flights; delayed by a few minutes, should be granted some leeway.
Delayed by two hours - not minutes.
There is 30 minutes of leeway. Ryanair arrived 7 minutes past those 30 minutes of leeway.
And Berlin wonders why businesses don't locate in Berlin!
If Tegel were still around, it makes sense to have a curfew. The renamed SXF should be 24 hours.
Huh? in 2024, Berlin's GDP grew by 0.8% while Germany's national GDP contracted by 0.2%. But you're right...no one want to do business in Berlin.
This is not the first time Ryanair has attempted to land past curfew at BER and then had to divert to Hannover. They ought to know better by now.
Unlike the Gran Canaria flight Ben reported on a little while back, there wasn't a chance in hell for this one to make it. It probably never should have operated and Ryanair has no leg to stand on here. This is on them.
Until this post, I had no idea there were dedicated white noise machines. I must get one. Anyone with recommendations?
@ Jones -- Hah, there are white noise machines, but I just use an app on my iPhone, called "White Noise."
Ben, you should look into research on white noise vs pink noise. I switched to pink noise (there’s an hour long “song” on Spotify that is use and it’s great).
In fact, there are earbuds for sleeping that are designed to play white noise all night long, while being comfortable even for side sleepers. They are a true godsend and they allow me to sleep without sensitivity to noisy distractions both at home and in a business class seat in the air. Look up "Ozlo Sleepbuds".
There is a company, Dohm, that makes several dedicated white noise machines. I use it at home and it has worked well for years. I use the app, White Noise Lite, on my android phone for travel.
lets see if they try to sue you again lol
Careful Ben, or you might be getting more theoretical letters from hypothetical lawyers ;)
Have you met their d@&$head CEO. What do you expect. Attitude reflects leadership.
"Berlin has a strict night curfew from 12AM until 5AM, " <-- unfortunately once again you got the curfew times wrong: it starts at 11:30pm and until midnight there's a grace period for late arrivals.
@ Chris -- Good catch, thank you! Updated post to reflect that.
The Australian govt is just as stupid in Sydney.
However the new airport is opening shortly 24/7
Yes with no direct public transport links.
It’s taken them 50 years to build WSI but they have failed to deliver on infrastructure. Typical Australia.
Why is a curfew in Sydney stupid? Some of the city’s densest and oldest suburbs are directly below the flight path. Should the sleep of 250k people not matter?
If rules and laws are not enforced, they aren't rules.
A very German attitude!
FAFO, RyanAir.
Well done Ryanair, caught with your pants down yet again …. flaunt the rules and suffer the consequences.
Not “flaunt,” it’s “flout.”
Absolutely, Willy, my mistake Mr Apple iPad’s fault …. bleeding pond hopping jet lag getting to this old codger again. Only one more LHR-DEN trip to complete for my masters.
Germany enforces very strict curfew regulations. Of course there would be exceptions on an absolute emergency.
Switzerland is also the same. They are quite anal in that respect, when you can’t even shower or run the washing machine after 22:00.
If the flight had not departed late and was delayed due to en route demand they may have a valid point.
I do agree with some of Ryanair’s stands on issues affecting all airlines, including atc strikes.
You can run your washing machine after 22:00 in Switzerland but you might have to endure a severe tutting in the lift from your neighbors and endure a short telling off from your building’s custodian.
Social norms are a terrible thing ;-p (who is doing laundry in the middle of the night in any case?)
@Ed - I do my laundry in the middle of the night (actual middle of the night, not at 22) all the time either because I just came back from a trip or simply because it's the only time I have available. Never a single complaint from my neighbours though - I'm not sure how they could possibly be aware of it, we don't have paper thin walls.
Where I live electricity rates are cheaper during off peak hours like the middle of the night to help reduce peak hour demand. Many people program their washing machines to run in the middle of the night. Most people do not live in high rise buildings so they only disturb themselves.